Nellie's Notes Summer 2019

Nellie’s notes Nellie Melba Retirement Village • Summ mer edition 2019

Fundraising for Cancer research Australia’s biggest morning tea was a hit

Meet Dorothy

Oz Dog Show

First anniversary

Greetings from Mark...

We celebrated the first anniversary of our early independent resident arrivals at a recent Happy Hour. Our care centre has hosted cultural activities, including recognising NAIDOC Week to help celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Nellie’s Notes.

The weather has warmed up and it’s been a busy time at Nellie Melba Village with many new residents arriving in the recently opened independent apartments.

Construction continues on other parts of the village to expand the spaces for care living and serviced apartments.

We’ve held family information sessions following the introduction of the revised aged care quality standards by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. The sessions worked through the new framework and I’d like to thank those who came to participate in the presentation and Q&A session. Your continuing support and feedback are always welcome.

We now have a Village Host working in the evenings from Thursday to Sunday offering residents a food and drinks service. This adds to the atmosphere of our community, and of course we have our very popular café.

Kind regards,

Mark Owens Village Manager Ph: 03 8513 1900

A note from Liane & Morag...

It is a pleasure to present the summer edition of Nellie’s Notes. We hope you enjoy catching up on the exciting things happening at our village.

We were thrilled to recently present the Melba Opera Trust Concert. Some of Australia’s finest young artists from Melba Opera Trust took us into the world of passion and romance that is opera. The talented performers included the current recipient of the Ryman Healthcare Opera Scholarship, Samuel Piper.

Independent apartment available now!

New residents are moving into both our independent and serviced apartments. No matter how cold it is outside our residents are always so warm and welcoming. If you would like a tour of our amazing village, please let us know as we would love to show you around and shout you a cuppa and cake in our café.

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Liane Kirwan & Morag Davidson Sales Advisors Ph: 03 8513 1930

Village news

Biggest morning tea Raising funds for cancer research is a cause close to the hearts of a lot of residents at Nellie Melba.

So, when the opportunity arose to host an event as part of ‘Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea’, a group of residents did not hesitate to take the lead.

“So many people here have been touched by cancer, we just felt that we wanted to make a contribution,” said resident Rosie Clough, one of those who organised the village centre morning tea.

“So, we approached Ryman to see if they were able to do the morning tea because a lot of the residents here really aren’t into baking anymore, and Ryman was very generous in saying that, yes, they’d do the morning tea.

Around 100 people – “an excellent turnout” – attended the high tea, raising $1,500 through raffles and a donation to attend.

Photos: Residents say the cause is deeply personal.

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Serviced apartment resident profile

Meet Dorothy

my life, but I have visited many places and toured throughout Europe.

That passion to travel prompted me to sell my unit in Melbourne and buy a campervan. First, I headed up north but when I arrived on the Sunshine Coast I fell in love with the serenity. So I stayed, living there for 26 years. When I was living on the coast, I would enjoy a long walk along Mooloolaba beach every morning at 6.30am.

My husband Eric and I married in St Kilda when I was aged 20, and we had two sons. I enjoyed being a stay at home mother and valued the time we spent together as a family.

In 1972, Eric started a recreation club, which later turned into a walking club, which we organised through our church parish. We wanted to bring families and the community closer together. Later, my husband passed away. I chose a serviced apartment with the help my sons. Sight problems impair my ability to cook for myself so I like that meals are included in the apartment package.

I’ve lived in Australia all my life, but I have visited many places and toured throughout Europe.

Hello, my name is Dorothy Heron and I’ve been living as a serviced apartment resident here at the village for the past five months.

I was born in Footscray, Melbourne, the third oldest of five children. I’ve lived in Australia all

These days I enjoy watching the AFL. I have always supported the Brisbane Lions as my grandfather used to play for them, and I now like to go and watch my grandson play. I’m an avid music lover, particularly enjoying the light classics.

Serviced apartment news

Cottage visit A group of serviced apartment residents recently visited the reconstructed Cook’s Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens. Following a short bus trip, they had the opportunity to look inside the cottage, explore its artefacts and learn about its history from a volunteer team. Some

residents chose to dress up in the 1700s-styled clothing and looked quite the part. It was a lovely afternoon and everyone who joined in the outing had a wonderful time.

Pictured: Residents enjoyed the cottage and surrounding gardens.

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News from the village

News from the care centre

The Oz Dog Show

Kangaroo valley

The OZ Dog Show and its cast of friendly canine characters recently visited Nellie Melba. The residents gathered for the show of obedience and took the opportunity to pet a variety of dogs and speak with their owners.

During August our special care unit enjoyed a first.

We took a bus ride up to the lovely Crystal Brook picnic area at the base of Cardinia Reservoir, near Lysterfield. We were very lucky to witness several groups of wild kangaroos grazing in the sun.

Pictured: Dorothy Heron loved meeting a couple of canine companions at the village.

Pictured: Our special care residents and staff were happy to capture photos of kangaroos grazing.

Staff profile

Introducing Mark

Managing a Ryman retirement village requires a rare mix of skills and experience not many people have.

Mark Owens is one of the few.

[Mark] says he’s enjoying the different challenges and rewards of village life.

Nellie Melba’s new village manager has 30 years’ experience in the hospitality and events sector. He has led hospitality management at AFL Grand Finals, Boxing Day tests, the 2011 Rugby World Cup, and the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

“I think a lot of the ingredients that go into those roles I had

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previously are similar to the ingredients that are required here. You’ve got some residents, customers, facilities, teams and all of those similar complexities.”

Then came along the opportunity to lead Nellie Melba.

“The role has all those ingredients I felt confident I could manage and at the same time bring new experience and challenge the team in different ways and it’s been a great start.”

While Mark’s been on a steep learning curve since starting, he says he’s loving village life.

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Village news

First anniversary On August 8 we celebrated the first anniversary of our initial independent residents moving into our wonderful village.

To help mark the occasion we organised a magnificent two-tier cake with the resident’s names written around the top of the centrepiece.

The sweet cake was shared by many of the independent residents during their weekly Happy Hour.

Mark Owens Village Manager Ph: 03 8513 1900 Call Mark for general enquiries, or information about low care, high care and specialist dementia care.

The anniversary was a wonderful time for them to look back and reflect on their time at Nellie Melba and celebrate the important milestones that have been reached within the village. The staff and residents joined in together for the occasion.

Pictured: Residents gather for the big event.

2 Collegium Ave, Wheelers Hill

nelliemelbavillage.com.au

Liane Kirwan & Morag Davidson Sales Advisors Ph: 03 8513 1930 Talk to Liane or Morag for information about independent and serviced apartments.